santas searchlight

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Paddydog`1

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Santa has just asked me which torch/searchlight I want to find in my stocking come Christmas morning. Says i can have a good quality LED one which will help me find moorings in dark and also a personal one for around the boat. I told him I would ask you good folks and get back to him asap
 
Flashlight

I have bought a few of these or something similar from China. They are amazingly bright with focussable beam and small enough to slip in your pocket.
http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-C...ht-Led-Zoomable-Flashlight-Torch-p-51511.html
The ones I bought run on one AA battery or 18650 Lion rechargeable. While this one seems to run on 3xaaa batteries or the 18650. You can get 4 x18650 and a charger quite cheap. I tend to use as a spotlight looking for buoys. This model with a dim function would be even more useful because in night sailing the one I have is so bright you tend to put your hand over most of it to reduce glare if just looking at watch or similar.
It might be a bit late fro Chrissy however good luck olewill
This is the one I bought even cheaper
http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-N...t-Torch-Zoom-Lamp-Light-300lm-Q5-p-33588.html
 
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I impulse-purchased a Toolzone 33 LED rechargeable torch a few years ago. It stays on the boat in the Summer and then by our front door at home in the Winter. We both find it to be very good.
 
reeac said:
I impulse-purchased a Toolzone 33 LED rechargeable torch a few years ago. It stays on the boat in the Summer and then by our front door at home in the Winter. We both find it to be very good.
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Torches that use multiple 5mm LEDs are not too bad for general illumination at low to medium levels but they have very little "throw" the beam cannot be focused so they are a very poor choice for picking out a mooring buoy, or similar tasks require a light that will illuminate an object a long way off.
Someting like a single Cree Xm-L U2 emitter is a much better choice. For general illumination in a small torch a Cree XP-G S2 is often used. This will be much less bright than the XM-L, but the requirements for heat disipation are less, which means it can used with a small size. A small sized torch with an XP-G emitter will still put out more light than a much larger torch with multiple 5mm LEDs.

The actuall emitter is vital there are some much older Cree emitters that are poor performers in today's terms, but are available cheaply.
The other areas cheap torches skimp is to use no regulation. This means the brightness drops off quite rapidly as the batteries get older. With a regulated torch the brightness will stay the same.
Beware of anything with a plastic casing. It is very difficult to design adequate heat sinking and the torch will not be very bright, short lived, or probably both.
 
noelex said:
Torches that use multiple 5mm LEDs are not too bad for general illumination at low to medium levels but they have very little "throw" the beam cannot be focused so they are a very poor choice for picking out a mooring buoy, or similar tasks require a light that will illuminate an object a long way off.
Someting like a single Cree Xm-L U2 emitter is a much better choice. For general illumination in a small torch a Cree XP-G S2 is often used. This will be much less bright than the XM-L, but the requirements for heat disipation are less, which means it can used with a small size. A small sized torch with an XP-G emitter will still put out more light than a much larger torch with multiple 5mm LEDs.

The actuall emitter is vital there are some much older Cree emitters that are poor performers in today's terms, but are available cheaply.
The other areas cheap torches skimp is to use no regulation. This means the brightness drops off quite rapidly as the batteries get older. With a regulated torch the brightness will stay the same.
Beware of anything with a plastic casing. It is very difficult to design adequate heat sinking and the torch will not be very bright, short lived, or probably both.
Click to expand...

I had no idea there was such an array of LEDs. Really interesting. So when buying a hand held torch, what would you look for from the huge array of makes and models out there?
 
Paddydog`1 said:
Santa has just asked me which torch/searchlight I want to find in my stocking come Christmas morning. Says i can have a good quality LED one which will help me find moorings in dark and also a personal one for around the boat. I told him I would ask you good folks and get back to him asap
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I have 2 Led Lenser T7s, one of which I keep on the boat. Quite pricy but superb - small, light, very powerful.
 
Piers said:
I had no idea there was such an array of LEDs. Really interesting. So when buying a hand held torch, what would you look for from the huge array of makes and models out there?
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I would recommend a large big bright reasonably waterproof torch as the first one to buy for a boat. The best option depends on the preferred battery. The Fenix range is hard to beat for regular batteries.
TK 41 U2 for AA batteries
TK 60 for D cells
TK 70 for D cells very large if you want something very very bright.

If you are prepared to go to fuss of lithium batteries (rechargeable or not ) there is an enormous range of torches available, but this is more involved and not recommended unless your are very keen.

For a smaller torch it depends a lot on the size you want.
There are single AA, double AA, or 4 AA sizes and many more using lithium batteries.
 
I have just bought the 'Nightsearcher' Led hand held, rechargeable, trigger search light. They seem to be well respected by boaters - google them up.
 
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Santa brought me a Fenix torch a couple of Christmases ago (I think its the TK35). Absolutely astonishing. Although a significant part of its use has been showing people just how amazingly bright it is, I now wouldn't be without it on the boat. Combines the power of a searchlight with the ability to put it in your pocket. Feels very well made, both body and switches.

The ability to adjust the light level is really useful. Max power is too much most of the time! The power it has is not just good for seeing distance (the lack of spread of the beam is really good for that), but for clearly illuminating the depths of our deep bilge, complex bits of the engine, wiring in lockers, etc.

The model I have uses non-standard batteries (camera batteries I think), but has the advantage (pointed out by a poster on here a couple of years ago when I was first looking) that it has a flattened end, which means it can be put down without rolling too easily. I thought that having to have a stock of non-standard batteries would be a pain, but Santa supplied a couple of spare sets, they're very compact and live on the boat. As far as I can remember I've never had to replace them.
 
LittleSister said:
I thought that having to have a stock of non-standard batteries would be a pain, but Santa supplied a couple of spare sets, they're very compact and live on the boat. As far as I can remember I've never had to replace them.
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Yes the TK-35 is a great torch.
It uses litium batteries which I prefer, but most people want " ordinary batteries"

The TK 35 will take two types of litium batteries
Non rechargeable CR123
Or rechargeable 18650 batteries

If you are not using the torch much the cr123 batteries last a long time. Be careful where you buy them from they are sold as camera batteries and can be expensive from the corner store, However they are available very cheaply if you shop around on the Internet.

If you are using the torch a lot the rechargeable batteries are best. You can buy the batteries and rechargers easily. The litium batteries hold their charge a long time.
 
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